Edgy's football blog | Rematches not made in heaven

October 23, 2012|Edgy Tim | On High School Football

(Reid Compton/for the Chicago Tribune)

The playoffs are here, and with them usually come a litany of usual complaints about the system, such as the lack of true 1-32 seeing, not being set up so the two best teams in each class reach Champaign.

Once the games begin, though, those complaints usually are put aside.

What really gets me, though, are first-round games that are rematches from the regular season.

Seems simple enough for the Illinois High School Association to change.

In Class 7A, Plainfield North and Oswego. Belleville West and East St. Louis. The list goes on.

What's the big deal?

Well, most players and coaches probably would agree that seeing different teams is part of the allure of the postseason. Traveling to and seeing unknown places to play unknown teams is a valuable part of the experience.

The IHSA wants football to be like every other sport, though. They want balanced geographical representation.

But football is different from other sports in so many ways, the most obvious being that it has a nine-game regular season during which every game counts.

The solution is simple: Allow the IHSA to adjust final seeding one spot up or down if it means having conference teams avoid each other in the opening round.

With this proposed rule, the IHSA can maintain its beloved geographical balance. Travel wouldn't increase by much, and teams would have the opportunity to see new opponents.

I can live with rematches in Round 2 and beyond.

But in the end, playing an opponent so familiar to start the state playoffs is not much fun for anyone.